Super Saturday

It's finally Saturday. You'd think it wouldn't matter since I'm on maternity leave. But it does. It's been a long week. Made it to the gym yesterday. Was a bit worried about leaving Big O at the day care center. He's having huge attachment issues. He cried when I left. I made it through a 45 minute workout. When I got back he was sitting on the lap of one of the daycare ladies. Apparently he sat there the whole time :(.
I did one of the Nike Training Club workouts and followed up with 10 minutes on the elliptical.

Took Big O swimming today. He did SO MUCH better. We took it slow getting in the water and I just let him hold on. Here's the happy guy afterwards.

Came back home and got a little cuddle time and napping with my babes.

Did another workout tonight alternating between walking and running. My legs were sore from yesterday. It's been so long since I had that kind of pain. I weigh in tomorrow. Really hoping the number has gone down a bit more.

Thankful Thursday

I'm officially cleared for exercise. No more excuses for staying flabby. Today I followed my plan and ran a mile. It was painful. I made it .6 of a mile and then had to walk a bit before I finished the rest. I walked before and after to get in a full two miles. I've been reading all these blogs about amazing mamas doing marathons, triathlons, etc. and I'm feeling pretty crummy. But, I did take almost 6 months off. My last race was The 12Ks of Christmas. I think I officially stopped running in January. I walked until about March and then I just stopped exercising altogether.

Today is Thankful Thursday.

#1. My husband. He does more than his fair share of taking care of the kids do that I can work on job applications, exercise, or nap. He's a pretty amazing guy.

#2. Not seeing 100 degree weather in over 7 years. I moved to Seattle from Sacramento where summers were blazing hot. I've been reading lots of blog posts complaining about the heat across the nation. By, here in Seattle when we do have sunny days it's generally in the 70s.

#3. My Fitness Pal. Not sue why this one seems so much easier than sparkpeople, but I've been really successful at tracking calories and staying under my limits.

#4. Summers with my babes. I got to go to the library then take a long walk to the play field on this beautiful afternoon. Baby E slept the whole time, but Big O was super excited to be out
And about. I just love having the time to spend with them this summer.

Here are some pictures from the workout Yes, my forehead really is that big! Thinking I should get bangs again...

Before and after workout pics

First Post Pregnancy Workout

Measure Up Wednesday

Oh jeez,  it's time to take a look at the numbers.  Before we get into the ugly stuff, let's look at the most important number: Baby E turned one month old yesterday!!

One month birthday jam!

 Now the ugly numbers...

Thighs: 27

Hips: 46

Belly: 43

Arms were 13".  I'm not quite talented enough to know how to take a picture of myself while measuring my arms.  I know you can't really see the numbers, but hopefully in the next few months you will see the body shrinking!

Tomorrow I see my doctor and hopefully get cleared for working out again.  I'm excited to have the rest of the summer to squeeze in a workout a day (my goal) before the school year starts.  I'm so inspired by all the mamas whose blogs I read who are able to prioritize exercise.  My problem is that I prioritize sleep.  Ah, sweet sleep, how I miss you. 

In non fitness news, I FINALLY got Season 4 of True Blood from Netflix.  We're poor - can't afford HBO, but I love my True Blood.  The fourth book was my favorite of the Sookie Stackhouse series, so I am super excited. 

Vampire Eric.... so dreamy.

I already watched the two episodes on the first disc.  Gotta send it back ASAP to get the next one in the series.  I wish I could watch this while I hopped on the treadmill. But chances are, I'll be squeezing in workouts while Big O is watching Cars for the billionth time.

Fitting it All Together

Today I ventured back into the office.  I needed to get some planning done for a summer school class I'm teaching and also work on some job applications.  I was only there for 4 hours, but I left feeling physically and mentally exhausted.   I don't know how I'm going to fit all of this in once I go back to work full time - being a good mom, eating healthy, and exercising.  Hell, I'm not even exercising yet!  I came home and was lucky enough to crash for about an hour while hubby did the grocery shopping and both kids napped. 

After my nap I was motivated to get rid of my old stress: the dissertation.  You know, to make room for all the new stresses.   I boxed everything up and had my husband take it down to the garage.  Good riddance!!

Buh Bye Dissertation!!

I was pretty bummed about how little I lost last week and I got online to read a bit about weight loss while pumping/breastfeeding.  I had been eating only 1500-1600 calories a day and everything I read suggested that I really need to increase it to around 1800.  But, I'm in this weird in between situation.  I don't produce much milk - I didn't with my first and I didn't with this one either.  AND my baby had some serious latching problems.  I went to the lactation consultant and she hooked me up with syringes to feed the baby formula while she was nursing at the breast using a nipple shield.  It was really hard, messy, and everyone was miserable...  It lasted about 2 days.  So, I've been pumping and giving baby all the breast milk I produce and supplementing with formula.  With the small amount I produce, it's actually more like I'm supplementing her formula with breastmilk.  

So, I worry when I read things that say breastfeeding women should be consuming 2000 calories a day or more because I really am not breastfeeding.  Those women can pump out 6 to 8 ounces at a feeding.  The most I ever get is 2 ounces.  So, I really don't know what to do.  But, this week I'll increase my calories to 1800 and see what shows up on the scale on Sunday.

Here's my end of the evening picture - hanging out with Baby E in the baby bjorn.

Sunday Check In

Weight
 Last week I weighed in at 186.3. This week I'm at 182.9.  I met my gol of 184, but I gotta say I was hoping for a smaller number.  I gotta remember that I'm not 20 anymore and my metabolism ain't what it used to be.  My week weight loss was 3.1, but remember last week I had gained 0.7 pounds.  Updated pics below

Gotta work on that posture!

Keepin it real. Photos don't lie.

Beginning Weight: (6.10.12)  185.6

Today's Weight (6.17.12)     182.9

Total Change                         -2.7

Goal for Next Week: under 182

In other weight related news, I joined the lose a mathon challenge over at Run with Jess.
The challenge ends Monday September 17th.  26.2 pounds is pretty huge! I'll do my best to get there.

Lose a marathon (26.2 pounds)

Exercise
No exercise yet.  I'm seeing my doctor on Thursday - hoping to be cleared for take off.  Then, you'll get to see all my fun excuses for not exercising! 

Here's my plan for the week, considering I gotta get moving to get these pounds off.

Thursday: Run 1 mile, Pinterest Thursday Workout
Friday: Run 2 miles (in 1/2 mile chunks), Pinterest Friday workout
Saturday: Run 1 mile
Sunday: Run 2 miles (in 1/2 mile chunks), NTC workout

I'll share more on the pinterest workouts in a later post.  Or you can check out my pinterest babyweight board: http://pinterest.com/furzilla/baby-weight/

Small Change Updates

Small Change #1
Yes Days 17  No Days 1
Doing really good at not snacking during the day!  Sometimes I'll have a little something while I'm getting a meal ready - because I'm STARVING! But, I just include that in my meal calorie totals.

Small Change #2
Yes Days 11  No Days 1
Yep, this one is going really well also.  We ran out of watermelon and I had to settle for some other fruits and veggies.

Family Goals:   My goals were
1. Take Big O out at least 4 times - did this, despite his increasing social anxiety
2. Shopping / meal list - yep.  I didn't eat out once this week cuz I had everything I needed at home
3. REALLY CLEAN one room in the house each day - NOPE.  I made it through the bathroom upstairs one day and that was it.  I've kept up on the daily cleaning but haven't committed myself to the deep cleaning.

Family goals for next week:
1.  Taking Big O out at least 3 times
2.  Cleaning out all my dissertation junk from the living room.

Super Saturday

Saturday is my day to spend with my favorite little guy. Before Baby E came around we would always go out together on Saturday just the two of us.  I'm trying to keep Saturday focused on Big O, but I can't just leave Baby E with my husband all day.  I woke up and had breakfast with Big O. Check out that smirk on his face.  Damn, it's like looking in the mirror! 

 

 After breakfast I took him to the gym for his first swimming lesson.  I didn't really know what to expect after his meltdown from yesterday.  Here are two pictures.  In the first one he was so dang excited that he couldn't stand still for the picture.  The second one was 20 minutes later, after about 15 minutes in the pool and a few tears on his cheeks.  He actually did pretty well. He didn't love it, but he wasn't screaming bloody murder the whole time. 

Let's go!

I'm over it

After a long nap, we woke up to find Aunt Jenny here.  It's been a decent evening with a peek of sunshine.  Hubby ordered a ton of Thai food for dinner.  Good thing I'm not a huge Thai fan otherwise I might have been tempted.  But, I ate a pretty small dinner and think I was around my calorie goal.  Tomorrow is my weigh in day.  I'm nervous.  Part of me is thinking I've lost 4 or 5 pounds.  I don't want to be too disappointed if I'm only down 1 or 2 or even worse that I've gained a pound.  I had a really good week of eating and I'm really hoping the scale will show it.

Friday Fun

Well, it was supposed to be fun anyways... Took O and E to work for the end of the year party, but O completely lost his marbles and screamed the whole time. This is the 2 year old, not the baby. How can someone this cute be so much trouble.

The good news is that I didn't turn to food for solace. I still ate under 1600 calories. There was tons of junk at the party that I could have shoved in my mouth, but I didn't. Yay me!

Thankful Thursday (just a day late)...

I really was super grateful yesterday, I just spent too much time sleeping to get online and post!  Yesterday I woke up at 4:30 with Baby E after a 2:00 wake up.  I made it upstairs around 6:30 and crashed back out until 10:00.  When O went back down for his nap at 1:00, Baby E and I took another nap together.  I'm getting more than 8 hours of sleep, it's just in these little 3 hour chunks :(

On to the positives...

1. Maternity Leave!  The school year is wrapping up and I know how hectic that is.  This year, I get to skip it all together.  My colleagues text me about all the crises and the changes at work, but I don't even care.

2. My husband:  It's been nonstop rain here this month in Seattle, and our backyard had become a marsh with weeds up to your knees.  In the past two days of sunshine, my hubby has kicked a$$ to get the yard under control.  It's so nice to look outside and see a well manicured lawn.

3. Sunshine: 2 DAYS IN A ROW!!!! We are back to clouds and rain again today, but I made sure to soak up the Vitamin D while I could.

4. My kiddos: So dang cute it kills me.

Trudging through Tuesday

It's been a rough week. And it's only Tursday. Yesterday was a big blur, but last night I only got 4 hours of sleep. This morning we took O in for an evaluation because he's been showing some autistic signs. It was a really tough visit. The doc said that O doesn't have enough indicators to qualify for any services. But, he does have some social and communication delays. It was tough because we walked away just feeling like we were really bad parents. And, now we aren't going to get any extra support.
After the visit we came home to deal with my stalled car. I got a tape stuck in my cassette player and it kept flipping from side a to side b, even when the car was turned off. Hubby removed my whole stereo :(.
Despite the crappy stuff going on, I managed to eat healthy. It feels really good to end an awful day having only eaten 1500 calories. :)

Sunday Goal Check

So today is supposed to be my day to upload my fat pictures.  I waited until night to take the pics and I'm really not happy with how they turned out.  No, I'm not talking about how fat I look - sheesh - that's the whole point of the pictures.  It's just that between the poor lighting and my iphone camera, everything came out blurry.  Gonna have hubby take better pics tomorrow.  Here are the ones I got tonight

 

I definitely still look pregnant.  The belly is still huge.  But, my thighs and arms are quite a bit meatier than needed.  I should probably do some measurements too.  It's hard to see myself as being so overweight.

Weight
 I weighed in at 186.3. Last week I was at 185.6.  So, I'm moving in the wrong direction!!  I think my next small change might need to be a bit bigger than the last two if I'm going to see any progress.

Beginning Weight: (6.10.12)  185.6
Today's Weight (6.17.12)     186.3
Total Change                         +0.7

Goal for Next Week: 184

Small Change #1
Yes Days 10  No Days 1
Today after weighing myself, I had a little pity party. Sorry you weren't invited.  I ate extra snacks today between my meals.  It helps to remember though that I have 10 solid days of not snacking between meals! That's a pretty good record.

Small Change #2
Yes Days 4  No Days 1
Guess what, since I didn't stick with small change #1 I also gave up on small change #2. Actually, if I count avocado as a veggie, then the little bit of guacamole I had for dinner should count!

Family Goals:  I had planned to go to the park with Ollie 3 or 4 times.  But, this is Seattle and we've seen nothing but rain.  I did take him to Barnes and Noble once, the library once, and the park once.  Today for father's day, hubby just wanted a little time to play video games.  O, E and I all walked over to the park.  O had a blast, E was not too pleased about the sun finally coming out.

My other family goal included watching a movie with my husband.  We watched Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. It was pretty damn funny.  This week my family goal is to do a shopping/meal list for the week, take O out at least 4 times, and REALLY CLEAN one room in the house each day.  I'm on maternity leave and I'm finally getting to enjoy the time at home now that the dissertation is done. Yes, having a clean house is my way of enjoying my time off :).

Better pictures will be up tomorrow.  Have a great week!!

Super Saturday: More Sleep Please...

Baby E has been with us a full 3 weeks and the sleep exhaustion is finally catching up to me.

I usually go to bed around midnight and then am up at 2 and again at 5.  I stay up until about 7am (until hubby is up and functioning) and then crash back out until 9 or 10.  Then, I try to head out with O. (today we went to Barnes and Noble for some train time and Target for some errands).  We get back by 1 and both of us (O and I  crash out for another 2 hours). I'm trying to figure out where to squeeze some exercise into this crazy schedule.  It's always been so hard for me to prioritize exercise over sleep.  Sleep always wins! I'm thinking on some days my 10:00 outing with O. will be a trip to the gym.

At target today I bought a full length mirror so I can start taking my weekly pictures.  I always like looking at those on other blogs.  Before I got preggers with Baby E I was not at a healthy weight.  I was deluding myself that I looked fine.  It wasn't until I started looking at pictures of myself that I could see how overweight I was.  Here's a picture from last summer:

September 2011

That was last September, about a month before getting preggers with E.  Baby O was over a year old and I hadn't really lost much of the baby weight.  For comparison, here's a picture of me before I was preggers with O.

Wet Knee Bonnie! May 2009

 but you can clearly see the difference between my 2009 and my 2011 pictures.  In this picture I probably weigh a little over 150.  I'd like to get down between 145 and 150.  I know it's going to take a lot of work, but I'll do it one small change at a time!!

Life after the dissertation

Today I tuned in all the final paperwork for my dissertation.  It is surreal that I no longer have this thing hanging over my head.  I keep imagining how perfectly fabulous life will be after dissertation (AD). But, life wasn't perfect before the dissertation and it sure won't be perfect now.  But, I am able to live in the moment, take on smaller projects and focus on my family and my health.

I've gone out walking with my new stroller both yesterday and today.  MAN, am I out of shape.  Just trekking across the UW campus yesterday made my calves burn.  Today, I pushed O about a mile to the library and was feeling like I actually got a workout from it.  I gotta go easy on myself.  Part of me wants to sign up for a half marathon right away to kick my butt in gear.  But, another part of me is advocating for a smaller goal.

I managed to hop on the scale today and there wasn't any change. Actually, my the first weigh in showed me down a whole pound, but then I moved the scale and found a place where I can weigh myself every week. 

Small Change #2 Check In:
I have actually been able to eat some fruits or veggies at every meal.  Last night this just meant taking a few bites of watermelon, but hell - I'll take that.  Adding fruits to my meals and cutting out the snacks has really helped me to eat healthier and less during the day.  Today I made the mistake of going out with O right before lunch. I was starving by the time we got back to the car.  I was even thinking of stopping at McDonalds.  When I got home I ate more than I needed to, but it was mostly healthy.  I'm thinking small change #3 might have to do with meal planning...

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday already?? The days just all seem to blend together when you aren't sleeping at night.

Here's my Thankful list for the week

1) Fitting into pre/early pregnancy pants:
For the first time in MONTHS, I was able to wear pants that did not have a full elastic waist band.  I slipped into a pair of jeans that I was able to wear pre-pregnancy and up through my third month.  Now, granted these jeans are size 14 and not exactly a size I'm eager to be at.  But, still it's a small victory to actually get to zip up a pair of pants.

2) Dissertation submitted:
The beast has been slain!  I officially submitted my dissertation online tonight.  Tomorrow I just have to go sign some papers at the grad school and then this part of my life will officially be over.  I am so thankful for all the support I received in finishing this.  But, I'm even more thankful for the free time I will have now that it's over.

3)  My son:
O. makes me laugh and smile every day.  Today he woke up from a nap in tears and we ended up cuddling and going back to sleep together.  It's things like that that make me so grateful to be a mom.

4) Opportunities:
I have been on the job market for a while and have been turned down for one job and had to withdraw from another job.  I'm just grateful that I have many opportunities that keep popping up and I feel like I'm in a good place to make the right decision.

In other news...
I had said that I would weigh in today, but that didn't happen.  Still a little scared to hop on that scale.  So many excuses, but it's really just fear.

Small Change #2: Fruits and Veggies

My parents hopped on a plane yesterday, and we are left alone with two little ones.  I'm not sure how parents do it when the kids outnumber the adults!  It's completely exhausting just taking care of these two little ones.

SMALL CHANGE #2
I've stuck with Small Change #1 for a week, really cutting down on the snacking I was doing between meals.  I'm not sure if it's too early to dive into Small Change #2, but I might as well try. I REALLY need to add more fruits and veggies to my diet.  My 2nd small change will be to include fruit or veggies with each meal.  I realize that I will still be well under the recommended # of servings, but this blog is called SMALL CHANGE. If you want big changes - look elsewhere!

BATTLE WITH THE SCALE
 I've been hesitant to step on the scale since my last weigh in.  I'm worried about my weight going back up and about the unreliability of my scale.  Here's my problem - I've got this scale in the baby's nursery and there's really no good place to put it. It doesn't fit in the bathroom or anywhere else.  The bigger problem is that my son LOVES to play with the scale, so I usually have to put it away somewhere.  The floors in our house aren't 100% flat, so depending on where I put the scale I can get a very different reading - up to 5 pounds difference!  Sometimes I end up going all around the room, weighing myself in different places trying to find the lowest number.  I'll weigh in tomorrow and then again on Sunday for my final weight!

FAMILY
I took O in for his haircut yesterday.  I was so proud of him - not one tear! He was definitely a little bewildered about what was going on, but he never cried or screamed out. We went to a kids salon, which I think is definitely worth the extra $$.  They had so many toys for him to play with.  I can't imagine how he would have acted at SuperCuts.

Sunday Goal Check

I haven't quite laid out all the goals I want to accomplish, but today is the day to check in.

WEIGHT
I weighed in today at 185.6. My top pregnancy weigh in was 204. So, I'm doing pretty good at making my way back down. My goal wight is around 145, which is pretty far away. Gotta remember it's about the small changes. My goal for next week is to be down at 184.5.

FITNESS
Still haven't been cleared for exercise. I'll set fitness goals in 2 more weeks.

FAMILY
Made it to the park with both kiddos today with our snazzy new stroller.


Baby slept most of the time then woke up starving. My goals for next week include taking O to the park 3 or 4 times, getting O's haircut, and watching a movie with my hubby. Small, simple, doable.


My parents leave on Tuesday and then we will begin adjusting to life as parents of 2 kids. I'm ready to have our house back, but I know it's going to be a huge adjustment doing this on our own.

Super Saturday:Graduation

Today was an awesome day. I graduated from UW with my PhD in Education. The ceremony was a bit long, but i got hooded. Sounds awful, but it's actually a pretty big honor.


My mom and dad both came from San Diego to celebrate with me. My older brother flew in from OC to join the party, too.


We tried to go out to lunch, but Little O was so grumpy that we just got sandwiches to go. We went out to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants for dinner. I ordered a chicken chimichanga, it's been a long time since I had one. Sooooo delicious.

Now I'm just chilling with the family with Baby E sleeping on my chest watching Tucker and Dale.

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Thankful Thursday: Days away from freedom

Thankful Thursday is a time for me to think about 5 things I am thankful for, reminding myself of all the wonderful things in my life.  

# 1: Dissertation is almost done!!  Oh, did I forget to mention that my baby was born exactly 13 hours after successfully defending my dissertation. My water broke about an hour after I got home from my defense.  Great timing, huh!!  I've got some revisions to complete and then this 4 year journey is officially OVER!! I've had this dissertation hanging over my head like a sad dark cloud for 4 years and now it's finally going to be gone.  I can't even imagine... what will I stress about now :)

#2  Baby E:  So cute, don't you think!  She's already practicing her karate chops.  Girl is gonna kick ass!

#3 My parents:  Mom and dad are both here now.  Mom has been a lifesaver taking Baby E so that I can try to get some work done on the diss.  She's been waking up at 2am to take the middle of the night shift.  They are here to celebrate my graduation this weekend.  Wish I could pop open some champagne, but Baby E might not like that in her milk.

#4  This guy

 

Yes, he looks like a rabid maniac, but he's just playing with his daddy dropping bubbles all over him.  He's a bit clingy right now with all the changes going on, but I know that it will pass.  He is such a sweet, lovable boy and I'm just so amazed that I get to share every day with him.

 #5  Seattle's Crazy Rainstorms.  It's June, and I've been bitchin and moanin about the weather for the past 9 months.  But, today I was so grateful for the rain and the dark weather cuz it kept me motivated to work on the dissertation.  Believe me, you won't see this posted too often!

Small Change #1:  Cutting out snacks (DAY 2)

Today went really well.  I did have a grande latte and a little chocolate rice dream between meals, but stuck to eating food at mealtimes.  It's hard not to want to add a ton of other changes or to be critical of the meals that I'm eating.  But - starting small and starting now is my focus and I'm sticking to it.

Small Changes

Almost 2 weeks ago I experienced a HUGE change.  On May 26th, my beautiful baby girl came into the world.  She was 2 weeks early and only weighed 6lbs 5oz.  It's been a crazy adjustment even though I've had so much help from my mom and my husband.  Nursing has (again) been a complete nightmare.  The nurses at the hospital were so adamant about putting her on the breast that they completely ignored the bite marks, chapped, and bleeding nipples.  It took me a full day to recover and get back to the point where I could even manage nursing a bit.  My milk production is low and between pumping 8 times a day and trying to nurse on demand, I am going a bit bonkers.  Breastfeeding aside, I am absolutely in love with this little person. 

My family now includes an amazing 23 month old boy, a newborn girl, and my wonderful husband (Seen here all napping together on the couch.  So Sweet!  I've been thinking a lot about all the changes that I need/want to make to be the mom and wife I want to be.  I was reading a post from nerdfitness today called "How to Not Suck at Building Healthy Habits... Finally!" My big take away was - Start Now, Start Small! So this blog is here to help me make SMALL changes in becoming a better and smaller mama.

So for today, and this week my small change is cutting out snacks. I had been thinking about it before I read the nerdfitness post, but made a commitment to it afterwards.  I am a rabid snacker.  I often graze throughout the day without wanting to eat any real food. I know there are lots of advocates of eating 5 times a day, but it's important for me to focus on 3 balanced meals. I can have fruit or a smoothie